a ktvu exclusive has tens of thousands of motorists routinely avoid paying tolls on bay area bridges without getting caught. good evening i'm julie haener. >> and i'm ken wayne. frank somerville is off tonight they're doing it every day on bay area bridges and getting away with it. a ktvu investigation has found more than a million drivers pass through bay area toll booths last year without paying

a cent. the trick they're using. we have jana katsuyama with how people are evading the tolls. >> reporter: really this all started when i got a call from a man who said that someone had stolen his license plates. and ended up finding something very startling about a bigger bay area problem that could be costing taxpayers. >> looks like they just ripped this completely out of here. >> reporter: avery turner says thieves stole the front and back license plates from his new mercedes. not the real plates but the temporary plates. >> i found out people may be doing robberies, some people are saying they're going over the bridge for free. >> reporter: bridge tolls range from $2.50 to $3 a vehicle. we decided to check with the transportation commission to find out just how many blank

dealingships were going through plazas. the results were surprising. ktvu obtained data showing the number of violations. it shows an average of 100,000 vehicles a month crossing bay area bridges with no license plate. and a spokesperson said many of those are likely temporary dealer plates. >> we're referring to as what is known in the trade as dealer blanks. those are registered as no license plate. >> no license plate? >> no license plate. it's not traceable to any particular vehicle. >> reporter: that means the ntsb could be losing four to $6 million a year. the ntsb has tried to fix the problem. >> ntc for years has advocated for a change in state law that would require any car once it leaves the lot to actually have a license plate. >> reporter: but so far, they

have had no success in sacramento. >> those folks that are using the toll bridges and not paying for that crossing put a greater on us who do pay our tolls. >> reporter: tonight i checked with the ntc and they said anyone who is caught violating the tolls and going through without a plate faces fines of $25 and up. they plan to continue working with the legislator to try and change the laws. reporting live in oakland, jana katsuyama, ktvu channel 2 news. more details now the ntc wants the legislature to require all vehicles to have either a permanent plate or a temporary numbered plate at all times. one proposal would be to require dealer to print and install temporary paper plates before a car leaves the lot. the number would then be entered into the dmv data base. new at 10:00, oakland police are investigating a shooting at the value inn hotel

at west mcarthur boulevard. it happened around 7:15 this evening. police say a woman was shot in the face. she is hospitalized tonight in serious condition. police searched the motel and surrounding areas for a possible second victim after seeing a trail of blood but did not find anyone. right now one man is in custody for questioning. now that the south bay where police released surveillance the footage in hopes of catching four suspects in a nightclub shooting. you can see the suspects walk into the spy nightclub early saturday morning. there are two men and one woman. two men entered the club first and appeared to be talking. they are followed by a third man wearing camouflage pants then a woman. a nightclub employee was wounded in the shooting but is expected to survive. we have posted more of this video on ktvu.com so you can get a better look at it. just look for the hot topics section. ktvu news has learned of a sharp increase in the number of car break-ins in san francisco. police tell us it's happening

in almost every neighborhood in the city. new at 10:00, ktvu's cara liu is live in the city in what she has learned about the increase in these crimes. >> reporter: police say right now san francisco is averaging well over 1,000 car break-ins a month. and it's not just one particular area, police tell us the entire city is a hot spot right now. john matrick had just left a networking event when he discovered his truck was broken into. busted a window and stole a bag from under the backseat. >> it's one of those things that i'm thinking, idiot. why would i even leave a bag or anything that looks like it might be worth something to somebody. >> reporter: he wasn't the only victim parked near washington and the embarcadero that night. >> pretty evident they were looking for something. there were four or five other cars that had gotten hit in that parking lot. >> reporter: ktvu asked police for recent numbers and learned car break ins are up 30% city wide. >> car burglars they don't just

break into one car a day they break into 10 cars at a time. there may be a whole block where cars are broken. >> reporter: some areas are attractions like fisherman's wharf. parking garages are also popular targets. >> a lot of open air garages, they're not attended. sometimes you have a fake attendant and people are watching you put things into your trunk. >> reporter: bottom line don't leave anything visible in your car. thieves typically go after cash or items they can sell quickly including cameras, cell phones and i pads. we're live in san francisco, cara liu, ktvu channel 2 news. a new high tech tool is helping the city of richmond fight its repew re --

reputation as the auto theft capital in the country. if a car comes up stolen police immediately receive an alert. they say auto thefts are now down by 33% since four cameras were installed in may. last year richmond had the highest auto thefts in the nation. the search is on for a missing man in san jose. search and rescue teams have been coming the area where the truck belonging to walter stevers was found. he went mining last week and when he failed to return this past weekend his wife reported him missing yesterday. stevers is described as 6'tall, about 185 pounds and has a white beard. searchers say they are concerned given the weather. >> we've been on the brink of rain. it's sprinkled a bit. luckily it has not come down so much. but it is getting cold. and that's a definite huge concern. >> reporter: stevers was last seen in steep terrain walking

down torter river. continuing coverage of deadly shooting in santa rosa where mourners gathered this evening to lay to rest 13-year- old andy lopez. he was shot to death by a sonoma county sheriff deputy last week while holding a toy gun which resembled an ak47 attack weapon. the grief was too much for some as family members gathered to pray around the eighth graders casket. this was also a day of protest in santa rosa as students, parents and community members voiced their anger about the death of the teen. >> shame on you, shame on you. >> reporter: about 1,000 people marched to the sonoma county sheriff's office. there deputies stood guard in front of the building and on the roof. among the marchers high school students who's parents signed permission slips so they could attend. >> my parents said it was okay

because they think that the kid didn't deserve to die how he did. >> i come as a father, my heart is broken for that family. and it could have been my kid. >> reporter: santa rosa school board member laura gonzalez says there is a riff between the latino community and the sheriff's department. preparing for a split second decision, shoot or don't shoot is something that comes with extensive training for law enforcement officers. it's a decision made even more difficult when a replica gun is involved. new at 10:00, eric rasmussen is live in san francisco where he's been reaching out to experts in law enforcement about that deadly shooting in santa rosa, eric. >> reporter: julie, everyone several retired officers would not talk to us on camera tonight because this issue is so sensitive. we were able to speak to a former chief who's now teaching here at the university of san

francisco. and he says even the best training sometimes is not enough to prepare officers for these life and death decisions. an air soft gun on the left, an ak47 assault rifle on the right. the bb gun held by andy lopez looked like the real thing to the deputy who shot and killed the boy in santa rosa last week. >> it's a tough decision to live with. >> reporter: former san francisco police chief tony rivera says shoot or don't shoot situations is something that police train for. for hundreds of hours in a classroom. rivera was not yet chief when a police officer shot and killed a 13-year-old boy with down syndrome who was holding a toy gun. police said he didn't follow an order to drop it. the incident sparked the kind of outrage now repeating itself

in santa rosa. some say more realistic looking air soft guns for sale in stores and online present an extra challenge for officers. selling one to a minor is a misdemeanor in california, displaying an air soft gun in public can lead to fines even arrest. >> in a split second the officer has an opportunity to decide whether it's real or not. i don't think so. >> reporter: rivera now a professor here at usf says regardless of whether a police shooting is justified or not the perception that an officer acted improperly means law enforce -- enforcement must reach out to those that were hurt to try to mend relationships with the community. officials say they are identified as 30-year-old andrew mitchell and 50-year-old eric perry, the men were picked up yesterday at a house in

vallejo. mitchell was part of the early release program to reduce prison overcrowding and perry was on probation. authorities say they seized an assault weapon, a stolen handgun, cash, heroin and marijuana. an oakland businessman isn't waiting for city leaders or police to keep one part of the city safe. as ktvu's patti lee tells us he's paying out of his own pocket to try to put a lid on crime. >> reporter: it's day one of a plan to keep china town safe. it involves private security guards patrolling the streets for at least the next year. >> it's not a cheap endeavor but it is, it's something that we were in the position to do. >> reporter: the ceo of a bank that started in china town 30 years ago is fitting the bill. he would not tell us the cost, just that the crime has already cost the city enough. >> i think there's the

perception that oakland is not as safe as it should be, and china town is located in oakland. >> reporter: former oakland police officers who know too well the impact their diminishing ranks have had on the city. >> it's going to be a long time for those numbers to ever catch up. i think the short term and mid- range solution to this is a private solution. >> reporter: according to the city's crime statistics, there were 800 crimes reported in this half mile raidous from seventh to 11th. the majority of crimes were theft. petty theft and burglary to armed robbery. >> a lot of people would say oh my god you're in oakland. >> reporter: three years ago carl chan spear headed an effort to outfit most china town businesses with security. that combined with added patrol by foot car and bicycle could help take a bite out of crime. >> it's going to help us to bring people back. >> reporter: city statistics show that after 5:00 crime

picks up in this neighborhood. so a visible street presence during the early evening hours will be a priority in the beginning. in oakland, patti lee, ktvu channel 2 news. a lake county couple has filed a wrongful suit over the death of their infant as -- their infant son from legionnaire disease. the suit claims that the hospital knew its drinking water was contaminated. two other hospital patients died of legionnaires during the 1980s. we were told hospital officials didn't have enough time to respond tonight. there is a new twist in the case of a patient found dead in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital. the body of 57-year-old lin spalding was found in a locked stairwell nearly three weeks after she disappeared from her hospital room.

now police say they can't find the man who reported seeing her body several days earlier. that man was reportedly wearing a hospital badge. it took four days for spalding's body to be recovered. that hospital witness is described as an asian man, 5'8" with a medium build about 30 to 40 years old. he was wearing a blue dress shirt, hospital identification and possibly a tie. state lawmakers today announced a special hearing into worker safety at b.a.r.t. and the recent accident that killed two workers. a b.a.r.t. car on a running -- on a training run during the recent strike struck and killed engineer chris shepherd and contractor larry daniels as they worked on the track. a policy that makes workers totally responsible for their safety may have contributed to the accident. b.a.r.t. discontinued that policy shortly after their deaths 10 days ago.

an assembly committee plans to hold a hearing on november 7th in san francisco. temperatures warmed a little bit today. we started out cloudy. it was cool out there in the morning hours and temperatures got to 66 in santa rosa. 65 in antioch, high temperatures tomorrow a little bit warmer. mostly in the mid-60s tomorrow. but a little warmer in some areas. tonight a frost advisory, second night in a row for the hills of the north bay. frost advisory means you're going to see frost above a certain elevation. above maybe 500, 600 feet in the north bay. you're going to find patchy frost so be ready for that. overnight low forecast, temperatures they're going to be in the upper 30s, mid-30s and low 40s. so temperatures on the cool side if you keep going for your wednesday morning. when i come back at 10:45, we'll broadcast for your city how warm it's going to get tomorrow. because the warming trend is under way. first he took her heart then her money.

how a local woman says she was swindled by a silver buck. >> i can't believe, he could do this. then in cuffs once again, the crimes this man is accused of and the unconventional way [ male announcer ] the founder of mercedes-benz once wrote something on a sheet of paper ♪ the challenge always accepted. and the calling forever answered. ♪ introducing the all-new 2014 s-class. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing.

three people were killed in arizona today when a dust storm

on a busy freeway drastically cut visible to near zero. arizona officials say at least 19 vehicles including six tractor trailers and a motor home were involved in that chain reaction crash. it happened on interstate 10 between phoenix and tucson. several passenger vehicles ended up wedged between the trucks. at least 12 people were injured. many of them are reportedly in serious condition tonight. the highway patrol in utah has identified a driver who was killed in a charter bus accident as the father of minnesota's vikings running back matt asiata. peta asiata died after his truck slammed into the back of a construction truck. that bus was carrying 50 people to a casino. one of the passengers is listed in critical condition. four others suffered less serious injuries. san jose police say they are making progress. news statistics released by the department today show a 43%

drop in the homicide rate compared to last year. a 10% drop in aggravated assaults and a 34% drop in the number of robberies. the question now can the department keep the trend going? robert handa has details on a new proposal to do just that. >> reporter: it's quiet in the virginia avenue area of east san jose and people here want it to stay that way. a gang related homicide here in june helped launch the police crack down a crack down that not only led to arrests but more police presence. >> crime is going down. that is what i like. you don't see a lot of activity around the neighborhood. and the kids feel safer. >> reporter: police acknowledge the crack down took a lot of money and transitioned to a more down scaled version. with the police units targeting hot spots. >> for now it is working. we have to see how long we can continue with this plan.

>> reporter: today councilman sam ricardo is looking to see where they can come up with more money to continue the program. if officers leave early as about 17 are going to do this year, the city they're going to would pay the loan. >> no matter how hard they work there's no institute for having more officers out there on the street. >> reporter: the police union say it is real problem is reduced pay and benefits. many people we talked to just want to keep extra patrols in their neighborhood. >> i like it because i feel safer. >> reporter: san jose police says it will continuously reevaluate the crack down effort but it may take several years to work out a year round effort. he was arrested for stealing a bike in april and is suspected of stealing five more just a few months later. coming up i'll tell you about the common tool investigators say he's using to carry out his

crime. >> he was attentive. he was very romantic. so they got married, only on 2. one woman's story of losing her life's savings to a man she says is living a do

only on 2 she met the man of her dreams and was swept off her feet then found out he wasn't who she thought he was. tonight a san jose woman tells us the man she married ended up cleaning out her life's savings. so she wants to make sure others hear about her sweetheart scam. >> reporter: police are trying to find the man who used her

victim's heart to get to her money. as she told me he is a sweetheart swindler. on this quiet san jose street lives a woman named kat. she has her own home and books but has not much else. >> i have nothing. i have social security and that's it. >> reporter: she met a man and fell hard. >> he was attentive. very romantic. he told me he was very christian. >> reporter: within three weeks they were married what she didn't know was that her new husband was on the website mug shots.com under multiple aliases including michael s. reed. >> that's him, yes. that's him. >> reporter: it hurts to even look at him. >> yes, it does. >> reporter: she says she gave him money for investments and gave her a checking book. within weeks her money which was at this bank of america was

gone. >> i have no idea where he is at. >> reporter: this kind of victimization is all too common. >> there's a lot of really lonely people out there. so i think once they find somebody who they really believe loves them they have a hard time detaching. but there's a lot of people out there willing to take advantage of it. >> reporter: now kat wants to warn people about this scam and about the man who she is still married to. >> yes he has a velvet tongue. he's very smart. >> reporter: if you have any information about james e. mcintosh jr. or michael s. reed you're asked to call police. john sasaki, ktvu news. one of san francisco's most wanted bicycle thieves is behind bars. heather holmes is live in the city to show us the ordinary tool being used to commit these crimes. heather. >> reporter: julie, you've locked it but you - it and how did that happen? i spoke tonight with a lead

investigator of the department's anti bike theft unit and he tells me that criminals are modifying carjacks to make off with your two wheels. outside of san francisco's ferry building evidence of a common crime. remnants of a bicycle. the expensive frame stolen. take a look, not even two locks could stop the determined thieves. >> i've had my bike stolen -p before and i know many people have. >> reporter: san francisco police have been on the hunt for the city's most wanted bike thieves and they say one of them has just been caught. >> he's a criminal of opportunity, whatever he sees and he can take he does and he's very good at stealing bikes. >> reporter: he is 37-year-old sean sista. uc police have been investigating several bike thefts nabbed sixa in the city. >> these are the tools that mr.

sixta was using. >> you can shave down parts of it to try and fit inside of a u lock then you crank up the jack. and it explodes the lock. >> reporter: friedmann says in less than a minute. a recent issued report shows there's been an increase in bike thefts in just five years. in 2012 more than 5,000 bikes were reported stolen to the tune of $4.6 million. the number of bike thefts that year outnumbered iphone thefts 3-1. >> this is something he continuously does over and over and over again. >> reporter: offer friedmann and officers hope this will be the end of the road for this accused bike thief -- officer friedmann and bike owners hope this will be the end of the road for this accused bike thief. san francisco police also showed me this crime alert after five bikes were stolen from a garage in the park district. ken and julie they say they are investigating whether sixta was responsible for those thefts as

well. reporting live tonight here in san francisco, i'm heather holmes, ktvu news. now to san jose where thieves stole hundreds of laptops and i pads from a middle school. we're told 31 laptops and 31 i pads were stolen. in all the thieves made off with about $70,000 worth of equipment. if you bought one of the new apple iphones and you're having battery troubles you're not alone. the cupertino company says a manufacturing issue is affecting battery life on some of its new 5s models. the issue can cause the battery longer to charge or have less battery life. a company from india with offices in fremont has reportedly agreed to the largest fine ever for visa fraud and abuse. infosist describes himself as a

technology outsources company. it's reportedly agreed to pay $34 million to settle with the u.s. attorney's office. infosist brought temporary workers from india to the u.s. on visitor visas, paid them lower salaries, and undercut american workers who were qualified for those jobs. on wall street the dow industrials closed to a record high today. the dow finished four points above it's previous high. nasdaq added 12. the fed announcement is set for tomorrow. the nasdaq exchange had to halt trading because of data glitch. it blames human error. the exchange has experienced high profile glitches. advocacy groups say that

mcdonalds is only a minor contributor to the ronald mcdonald charities. mcdonalds rejects the results and says it's proud of the support it has shown to that clarity. the doctor who performed the autopsy on lou reed has confirmed he died of liver failure. his doctor said reed's condition could no longer be treated so the singer chose to return to his long island home where he died at the age of 71 with his wife at his side. concerns about sex offenders handing out candy to

children. the i love watching tv outside. and why can you move the tv out here? the wireless receiver. i got that when i switched to u-verse. but why? because it's so much better than cable. it's got more hd channels, more dvr space. yeah, but i mean, how did you know? i researched. no, i-i told you. no. yeah! no. the important part is that you're happy now. and i got you this visor. you made a visor! yes!

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demolition of san francisco's cathedral hill hotel is set to begin in about two weeks. today mayor ed lee took part of the occasion. these artists renderings show what the hospital is set to look like when it opens in 2015. a judge today ordered a 16- year-old boy to stand trial in the shooting death of an off duty south bay paramedic. christian burton is being tried as an adult for allegedly shooting 34-year-old quinn bowyer in the oakland hills last april. burton's attorney calls the

shooting an accident. burton has pled not guilty which include special circumstances since prosecutors contend the shooting happened during a carjacking. he is due back in court next month. the national intelligence director is now admitting that yes the u.s. has spied on foreign leaders for decades. james clappert told a house committee admittedded those foreign countrys have been doing the same thing to the united states too. >> what we do not do is spy unlawfully on americans or for that matter spy indiscriminately on the citizens of any country. we only spy for valid foreign intelligence purposes. >> reporter: intelligence director also acknowledges mistakes. and will declassify more documents as the president and

congress have demanded. a 9-year-old boy said her 67-year-old grandmother was showing her how to tell when okra is ready to be picked when the grandmother was killed during an attack. >> everything was dark and i couldn't see anything. but i heard a scream. i don't know if it was my grandmother but i couldn't see her. i felt something in my hand. and i looked to my hand there was blood. i tried to bandage my hand but the blood kept coming. >> reporter: a study by stanford and nyu found between 2004 and 2012 drone strikes in pakistan killed at least 2,500 people. of those between 474 and 881 were civilians. the study says those drone strikes also killed 176 children. he was arrested for assault. the action singer chris brown took today ahead of his court date. plus a wave like few

others. the record broken by a brazilian surfer. and chief meteorologist bill martin is tracking changes in our weather he's going to tell us what

law enforcement agencies across the state are taking steps to protect trick or treaters on halloween. operation boo is designed to keep sex offenders away from children. but as ktvu's ken pritchett reports there's some controversy about who should fall under those restrictions. >> reporter: we know of two thins 2-year-old christopher likes to do that's to run and trick or treat. >> i love taking him trick or treating, candy, he loves candy. >> reporter: his mother also looks forward to halloween and

supports laws that stop sexual predators from participating such as putting out decorations or handing out candy. >> if you're on megan's law don't bother. we don't want our kids around you. >> reporter: every year, law enforcement targets sex offenders. that only applies to parolees. the city of orange in southern california passed an ordnance to force all sex offenders on the megan's law list to put a warning sign on their front door on halloween night. but a group called california reform sex offenders law fought them in court and won. we talkedded to that group's founder via face time. >> there are no reported incidents of a child being sexually assaulted on halloween while trick or treating by a sex offender. again it is a solution looking for a problem. >> reporter: that group considers laws targeting sex offenders to be unconstitutional. but not mark klaas.

>> i think they're very appropriate. they're registered sex offenders for a reason. >> reporter: the best weapon for parents is to use the megan's law map before they head out. what would jessica see if she looked more than a dozen sex offenders in her community and where they live. >> i think i might this year. >> reporter: in alameda, ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. we put a link to the megan's law website. there's a map that locates the home of sex offenders in your area. look for the link under your hot topics tab. chris brown is headed to court after punching a fan. brown faces assault charges. the 24-year-old singer is said to appear in court next month for a probation hearing connected to his 2009 assault of former girlfriend singer rihanna.

it's official tonight a proposed 2-cent per ounce tax on sodas and sugary drinks is now before san francisco's supervisors. the soda tax would raise an estimated $31 million a year. the money would be earmarked for nutrition, health and physical fitness programs. small business owners say it could hurt their bottom line. others call it manny government and say they should be able to drink whatever they want. homeless advocates stage a protest today. homeless advocates say the proposal is an attempt to criminalize homeless people. weiner introduced the measure. officials with rec and park say vandalism and dumps cost the city about $900,000 a year. the board of supervisors had to postpone a vote on the curfew

late this afternoon because police chief greg suhr had to leave the meeting. this evening people went to the shoreline for a candlelight vigil. at least 181 people died. many of them drowned in their own home from the storm surge. today the jersey shore still bears bear -- bares the mark of the destruction. property damages were estimated at $65 billion. a cool night in store, again tonight there's a frost advisory as we talkedded about for the hills of the north bay. the system is now pulling out of the area we saw up to 2-1/2 feet of snow up in the donor summit. area. now we have this cold air that's been left in place. still a little bit moist out there so it's not going to get freezing tonight but we are

going to see temperatures drop into the mid-30s in cold spots. temperatures outside right now we have 40s in the north bay. that frost advisory for the north bay just because you're not in the hills doesn't mean you wouldn't see frost in the morning. this morning you will see it again tomorrow morning. it's chilly out there now. it's going to be chilly again tomorrow morning as you get going. your forecast, pretty light and calm out there right now. so light winds testifitures are able to really drop down. so your frost advisory in effect and it will stay in effect through the morning hours through the hills of the north bay. a couple of cool nights in store. these are the forecast overnight lows, 38 in santa rosa, 41 in fairfield and 41 in antioch. so temperatures right down to the upper 30s and low 40s. as we move forward here, temperatures are going to gradually warm. not the morning temperatures as much as the evening temperatures. we start off cool and end up in the 60s. mid-50s and upper 60s. fog wants to return to the coast tomorrow morning. look for coastal fog to show up along the coastal sections in

the morning hours they linger there throughout the day. so we're going to see lots of green. lots of 60s tomorrow. mid-50s and even upper 60s. the forecast for san francisco it's chilly when you wake up in the city. i mean temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s in san francisco. mid- to upper 50s a noontime and 60 degrees for a daytime high. so it's sweater and jacket weather all day. 68 in antioch. there's the warmth to get away from the city. and you get out in those traditionally warm airs you're going to find 67, 68 degrees. good air quality with this pattern. fire danger always high and might be sweltering temperatures. in your five day forecast with your bay area weekend in view with halloween in view on thursday. because it is halloween. we have nice temperatures increasing as we head into the bay area weekend. halloween specifically take a big look at it. the weather looks good. we had a wet one last year if i remember right. this year no such thing it's going to be really nice weather for the kid on thursday night. >> that makes a lot of them

happy. >> it makes everybody happy. a brazilian surfer may have broken a new record for the biggest wave surfed. he also rescued a fellow surfer bringing her to shore after she

soon, californians from to salinas to san diego will have equal access to quality health insurance. those who need financial assistance will get it. and nobody will be denied because of a pre-existing condition. welcome to a new state of health. welcome to covered california. we are your health insurance marketplace. enroll today at coveredca.com.

the white house reportedly was warned about the problems with its national health care website one month before it was launched. cnn is reporting the main contractor for healthcare.gov reported a number of

outstanding issues and warned there wasn't enough time for adequate testing. meantime the chief of medicare was on capitol hill today to testify about the troubles people are having with the site. >> i want to apologize to you that the website has not worked as well as it should. we know how desperately you need affordable coverage. >> she said it will be fixed. republicans are not satisfied. they say some americans are seeing their insurance cancelled because it doesn't mean the laws requirement. the san francisco city attorney says it's considering an appeal of yesterday's multi million dollars jury verdict in an age discrimination lawsuit against the fire department. as david stevenson discovered city hall was already concerned about the department and is in the process of conducting an audit. >> reporter: even as firefighters worked monday to crush a major fire in san francisco the mission district, a new battle involving the department was brewing in town.

a judge awarded firefighters promotions and back pay. a separate audit is also placing heat on the fire department. >> back in june i introduced our budget, our audit priorities. the fire department being number one. >> reporter: malia cohen says that the suit is a concern. >> as it relates to promotion and advancement as well as a cultural treatment of people. >> reporter: cohen says it also focuses on funding and how it reaches out to firefighters. >> it is my goal to see these recommendations are implementedded. >> reporter: the results of that audit are due in about a month. in san francisco, david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. more details now late today we received a statement from

san francisco fire chief johan hayes white. she says the department disagreed with the jury's verdict but respects the judicial process. she also contends the exam did not disadvantage older candidates given that more than 2/3 of the promotions went to candidates over the age of 40. a program that limits the use of parks by dogs -- led the charge opposing the idea. he is urging the ggnra to modify its plan for recreational areas such as chrisie field and ocean beach. the warriors season kicks off tomorrow and toni

sports director mark ibanez here to tell us about the opening night for the nba season. >> can you believe it ten years ago tonight lebron james made his nba debut. seems like yesterday. meanwhile heads up for warrioren fans thinking it might be some kind of a break facing the lakers on opening night tomorrow in oakland with kobe bryant still out with the achilles problem. l.a. actually seems to play better without their superstar. now 5-0 on opening nights when they've had to play minus kobe was court side. great help from the la bench. left hand put it down he had 22 off the bench versus the clippers. man they get that laker bench scoring the last 46 tonight. the starters rested the last 15. jordan farmer back with the lakers. he also had 16.

they polish off the cross town rivals clip in doc rivers debut. 116-103. until proven other wise, it's the heat looking to replicate. lebron top of his game. assisting the bird man chris anderson who's back for more. lebron assures the victory against the bulls. and nice modest set line for him. 17 points six rebounds, eight assists, seven heat in double figure scoring. they win rather easily. no one even talks about the curse of the bambino back in boston anymore since the red sox have won a couple of world series titles in the last decade. if they win another one this year it could be the fans of st. louis might talk about the curse of the modern day bambino or big papi as david ortiz is often referred to. cardinal fans may be cursing the fact the cardinals just keep pitching to the red sox

slugger throughout this series even though he's now hitting over .700 against him. clearly the world series mvp. >> i've just been able to put a good swing on the ball and come through. >> the at phos -- atmosphere is going to be great. we still have to focus on playing baseball. we're still one win away. >> game six tomorrow right here on channel 2. meantime a halloween ball game to tell you about down south. it's been an annual affair. san diego state's aztecs. all of them in costume as you will see them go at it. kind of interesting at shortstop. you still get the agility. the baby out there at third base. watch this guy going as a

charger cheer leader. and he can hit. sign her up. that's a long home run. kind of interesting to see the guys in their costumes. there's the third base coach in the gorilla suit. the fans a little disturbed but they had a good time and it's not even halloween yet. >> things you do on halloween. mark, thank you. thank you for joining us. we're levering now a couple of minutes late because the

>> today on "tmz". >> detective work. it looks like lamar odom and khloe kardashian were together tonight. >> he showed up to the staple center where kanye west was having his concert. >>